After serving several appointments in Japan's foreign service, specializing in international trade policy issues, Professor Watanabe has now brought those skills and experience to the senior academic post he has filled at Keio University since 2005.

Prof. Watanabe’s distinguished career has featured significant engagement in all the major bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations in which Japan has been involved in the past two decades. This included the role of policy advisor to relevant Ministers, and postings to Japan's diplomatic missions in Brussels and Geneva. He was Deputy Director-General of the Economic Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan from 2002-2004 and served as Chief Negotiator for the Japan-Mexico Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and the Working Party on Russia’s Accession to the WTO. He was Special Assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan in 2004. He has been a member of the Task Force on Japan-India Economic Partnership, Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry since 2006.

Prof. Watanabe obtained his BA and MA and was PhD candidate in International Relations at Sophia University, Tokyo. He also studied at the College of Europe in Bruges under Belgian Government Scholarship. He is the author of a number of publications on GATT/ WTO and trade and economic partnership agreements. His most recent book on the TPP (Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement) has been ranked one of the top-ten best- selling books on economics in December, 2011 in Tokyo.

Promotion of free trade is one of the most important agenda in the third arrow of Abenomics. EU and Japan has agreed to start Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiation in March 2014.

EU is the largest investor to Japan and is the second largest destination for Japanese investment. EU-Japan EPA will create further business opportunities for both parties. In the presentation we will hear Professor Watanabe's view on the outlook for Japan's bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations to create further economic growth. Don't miss the excellent opportunity to hearing his first-hand talk.